Dipo festival is the greatest legacy of Krobo land. It is celebrated in the month of April by the people of Manya and Yilo Krobo in the towns of Krobo Odumase and Somanya, in the Eastern Region, located some 80 kilometres north of Accra. The festival is one of the famous and important festivals in Ghana.

Festivals of Ghana

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Objective Of Dipo Festival

Dipo is an initiative festival also known as Puberty rites, is a celebration that initiates adolescent girls to womanhood. Beside the pride it brings to the participant and the entire family, it is believed that girls who go through this ritual successfully, before they “touch” a man, become very good wives. The objective is for the girls to preserve their virginity before getting married. It is therefore important that those who go through rites have their virginity intact.The Krobos are very good at making Ghanaian beads and the festival therefore again provides opportunity for them to exhibit their rich, authentic and beautifully handmade beads, which has come to be part of them, to the public.

(See also the location map of Somanya, below)

The CelebrationAs the time of the festival approaches, announcement is made on behalf of the Earth goddess, Nana Kloweki for every parent whose daughter is qualified, usually by age, to get them prepared. Qualified girls are sent to the traditional chief priest for the rite, following the announcement.The mode of celebration is that, adolescent girls are decorated in beautiful beads and half-clothed. The Dipo girls, traditionally called Dipo-yi are dressed in beautiful cloth only from the waist to the knee level. The upper part of the body is exposed and festooned with colourful and assorted beads. The exposure of their breasts for everyone to see signifies that, they are transforming into adulthood, after which no one will see them again.

Two days are set aside for the festivities. These girls undergo a series of rituals, test and tasks to prove their chastity and readiness for adult life. On the first day of the ceremony, the girls are paraded in public in their ceremonial dress and their heads are shaved leaving a small portion of hair on the head. A piece of raffia is tied around their neck to signify they are now Dipo-yi, undergoing initiation.

On the next morning, the girls are given a ritual bath in a river and then required to taste foods like sugar cane and peanuts.

DIPO DOCUMENTARY Edited ABIGAIL BUXTON Directed Caxy P

A tri-liabation is poured using three different drinks, preferably, two local ones including palm wine and a foreign drink mostly, Schnapps. This is done to ask for the blessing of the gods for the girls undergoing the initiation.

Every parent of the girls presents a castrated goat which is then slaughtered and the blood used to wash the feet of the girls by the local chief priest. This symbolises washing away any bad omen and misfortune that might prevent the girls from having babies in the future. The girls then sit on a special traditional stool covered with a white cloth. A solution of clay (Hyire) is used to make marks and designs on their body. The intestines of the goats slaughtered are then wrapped around their shoulders and neck.

They are then taken to a shrine where they’re asked to sit on a sacred stone three times, in the presence of the chief priest, elders and parents. It is believed that any girl who is not a virgin but pretends to be one will not be able to get up after sitting on the sacred stone. This is because it is believed that the stone is holy and pure and only virgin can sit on it. This marks the end of the rituals section and the girls are sent home in the midst of drumming, dancing and jubilation.

The girls are confined for about a week, where they are taught about everything to become a successful and a good Krobo woman. Tribal marks are made on their hands to indicate that they have passed through the rite and are now part of women in the community. Elephant skin is tied around their head believed to ensure fertility.

After the one week of behind-the-scenes training, they are released into the society. They richly display their beautiful beads and dress in silk or Kente fabric, amidst singing and dancing the traditional Klama dance

They go round to thank all friends and family members for the part they played during the entire process. They also receive gifts from friends and love ones.

If a girl becomes pregnant before going through the rite, Kukudipo is rather performed on both the girl and the man responsible for the pregnancy. This rite is in the form of punishment for not maintaining chastity before marriage. This is also to deter other young girls growing up to be patient until the right time, before indulging in any unchaste activities.

The Dipo festival has gone through some modifications due to so many factors including, abuse of human rights and also children born through Kukudipo are often disowned by the parents families and the entire society since they believe the child is cursed.

Despite all these modification, the sole aim of the festival is to minimize, if not prevent, teenage pregnancy and also teach the young woman to be ready to take care of her own family in future. Hence, the idea still prevails and it is very interesting to witness this aspect of the art culture of Krobo land.

Dipo Festival is one of a kind of the Ghanaian cultural tradition and a must witness activity, unique to the chiefs and people of Krobo. It is mostly held around March-April(around Easter).

How to get there

Getting to Somanya and Odumasi is not much a problem. Krobo land is 50 miles east of Accra. It is less than an hour drive eastwards from Accra.

See below short documentary video, about Dipo.

Published on Dec 11, 2012A culture of the people of the Eastern Part of Ghana. The best tradition goes on.

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